The U.S. Postal Service, on the brink of default on a second multibillion-dollar payment it can't afford to pay, is sounding a new cautionary note that having squeezed out all the cost savings within its power, the mail agency's viability now lies almost entirely with Congress.

A virtual combat training system - in essence, video games - will soon be used in at least 100 Army bases worldwide. The simulation, dubbed Dismounted Soldier, was developed by a company in Ashburn, Va.

Oh Soug Kwon, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Avenciatech, Inc., is one of 12 people who pleaded guilty for their roles in what the government calls “the largest domestic bribery and bid-rigging scheme in the history of federal contracting.”

From Federal Computer Week: We have seen constant abuse of small businesses as subcontractors, most notably large firms using small businesses to check boxes, win awards, then not provide what was promised.

From NextGov: Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., is floating proposed legislation that would drastically reform the way federal technology is purchased, including by granting agency chief information officers authority over their information technology budgets.

From AOL Defense: The United States is "losing the cyber espionage war" against China, Russia and other countries, but even in the face of such a grave threat the country cannot agree on how to protect its precious intellectual seed capital from these predations, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee says.

From Defense News: A stopgap measure that will fund the federal government for the next six months will create “serious problems” at the Pentagon, particularly if the U.S. Congress does not pass dedicated defense legislation by the end of December.

From Environmental Leader: NASA, the General Services Administration, the Department of Defense and the Smithsonian Institution have all used information and communications technologies to reduce energy consumption and emissions while at the same time cutting costs and meeting sustainability mandates, according to a report released by the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.

National Defense magazine writes that Congress could not overcome the “divisive issues such as privacy rights, government overreach, liability and financial burdens on companies, and turf battles over whether Defense or Homeland Security should be in charge.”

From Federal News Radio: In the fiscal year that will begin in one week, managers of business IT systems in the Defense Department will face some new hurdles in gaining funding for their projects — even for systems that have been up and running for years.

From Federal News Radio: In campaign speeches, Romney has spoken of aligning federal pay with that of the private sector. "Federal compensation exceeds private sector levels by as much as 30 to 40 percent when benefits are taken into account," his campaign website states. "This must be corrected."

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